Body mass index changes and lipid peroxidation in adults with Down's syndrome

Introduction and objective

Trisomy 21 or Down's syndrome (DS) is the most common cause of mental retardation of chromosomal origin, in which obesity is a public health problem. Obesity is a pro-oxidant state associated with lipid peroxidation and alterations of antioxidant mechanisms. The effect of gene dosage has been linked to oxidative stress in DS. The objective of this study was to determine the status of lipid peroxidation and changes in body mass index (BMI) in adults with DS.

Patients and method

A prospective and cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 adult subjects (31.0 ± 6.3 years) with normal karyotype (NK) and 29 adults with DS (28.0 ± 8.7 years), randomly selected.The serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were analysed by thiobarbituric acid derivatives. The BMI was determined in adults with DS. The data were analysed using the SPSS 15 statistical program, using a 95% CI, p<.05.

Results

Adults with DS showed high concentrations of MDA (0.9 ± 0.7 nmol / ml, p<.009) compared to adult NK group (0.5 ± 0.4 nmol / ml). Abnormality was observed in 72.4% of BMI (n = 21) of adults with DS. Elevated concentrations of MDA (1.3 ± 1.0 nmol / ml) were seen in adults with DS and overweight (BMI = 27.5 ± 1.3), showing no significant decrease in obese adults with DS.

Conclusion

Although a reduction of antioxidant enzymes in severely obese adults without DS has been reported, the effect of gene dosage may be a contributing factor in reducing lipid peroxidation in obese adults with DS, without being a protective factor of its pathological consequences.